North Korea on Saturday test-fired two short-range ballistic missiles, its neighbors said, the fourth round this week of weapons launches that prompted quick, strong condemnation from its rivals.
In an unusually strong rebuke of North Korea's weapons programs, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said North Korea's"obsession" with nuclear weapons is deepening the suffering of its own people, and warned of an"overwhelming response" from South Korean and U.S. militaries should such weapons be used.
A man walks past a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a railway station in Seoul on Sept. 29, 2022.Yoon's comments could enrage North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who has alleged that Yoon's government was led by"confrontation maniacs" and"gangsters." Kim has already rebuffed Yoon's offers of massive aid and support plans in return for denuclearization.
According to South Korean and Japanese estimates, the missiles flew about 350-400 kilometers at a maximum altitude of 30-50 kilometers before they landed in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. Toshiro Ino, Japan's vice defense minister, the missiles showed"irregular" trajectory. "The repeated ballistic missile firings by North Korea are a grave provocation that undermines peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and in the international community," South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.
On Friday, South Korea, Japan and the United States held their first trilateral anti-submarine drills in five years off the Korean Peninsula's east coast. Earlier this week, South Korean and U.S. warships conducted bilateral exercises in the area for four days. Both military drills this week involved the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and its battle group.
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